Recommendation 43

The Supreme Court relied heavily on the evidence of the UNHCR in making its assessment of whether Rwanda is a safe country. The rapid timetable for Parliamentary scrutiny of the Treaty did not allow enough time for UNHCR to respond to our call for evidence but on 15 January 2024 it published an updated assessment taking into account the Supreme Court judgment, the Rwanda Treaty and the Bill. 63 This states: “As of January 2024, UNHCR has not yet observed the changes in practice of asylum adjudication that would overcome the concerns set out in its 2022 analysis and in the detailed evidence presented to the Supreme Court. … UNHCR notes the detailed, legally-binding commitments now set out in the treaty, which if enacted in law and fully implemented in practice, would address certain key deficiencies in the Rwandan asylum system identified by the Supreme Court.This would however require sustained, long-term efforts, the results of which may only be assessed over time. …[U]ntil the necessary legal framework and implementation capacity is established, the conclusion of the treaty in itself does not overcome continued procedural fairness and other protection gaps.” This assessment supports the views of witnesses to the inquiry.